Using ‘Had’ to Talk about the Past in English

The verb “had” is the past tense of “have.” In English, you use “had” to talk about something that happened in the past. For example, if you wanted to say that you ate breakfast today, you would say “I had breakfast today.”

It’s important to use “had” when you’re talking about something that is no longer happening in the present. So if you ate breakfast a few hours ago, you would say “I had breakfast this morning,” not “I have breakfast this morning.”

“Had” is a versatile verb that can be used in a variety of contexts, so it’s worth practicing using it in different sentences to get a feel for how it works.